Why the JIP was created

The oil and gas industry, often working together with academia and government agencies, has made significant advances in being able to detect, track and clean up spills in Arctic environments. Ongoing research continues to build upon more than 45 years of looking at all aspects of oil spill preparedness, oil spill behaviour and options for oil spill response in the Arctic marine environment. This research has included hundreds of studies, laboratory and basin experiments and field trials, specifically in Norway, Canada, Finland and the United States.

To build on this extensive existing knowledge base and further improve the technologies and methodologies for Arctic oil spill response, members of the IPIECA, Oil Spill Working Group (OSWG), Industry Technical Advisory Committee (ITAC) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) Emergency Preparedness and Response Program Group (EP&RPG) formed a joint committee in 2009.

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The committee’s task was to review the oil and gas industry’s prior and future work scope on prevention and response to oil spills in ice, to identify technology advances and research needs in industry preparedness, and to prioritise identified issues.

One outcome was the recommendation to establish a Joint Industry Programme (JIP) that would undertake specifically targeted research projects identified to improve industry capabilities and coordination in the area of Arctic oil spill response.

Collaboration among companies during the Arctic Oil Spill Response Technology JIP assured the most efficient use of resources, funding and expertise to improve the technologies and methodologies for Arctic oil spill response. The research work funded by the JIP benefitted greatly from close collaboration with academic institutions, governmental and non-governmental institutions.